oha 1985

The Jewish Cemetery Corfu, 1985

Art: 1985; the center drawing was completely redrawn, 2012
Framed, 26 in. H x 31 7/8 W [66 cm. H x 80.9 W]
Media: Ink, colored pencil, watercolor on paper

The original drawing of the Jewish cemetery, Corfu, 1985, drawn on-site.
Framed, 18 inches H x 22 width [ 45.72 cm. H x 55.88 W]

It has an “artified” wood frame including Hebrew writing I carved in the wood at bottom*, and insertion of a tree nut (left vertical);  blue beach found glass  (to the left of the carved Hebrew writing); a[n empty] metal can of shoe polish I’d bought at a Corfu shop (top right).

*The Hebrew writing, in English translation:

1 min., 57 sec. video of the drawing

A 9 min., 17 sec. video of the drawing

Background notes by the artist, 1988-89; revised April 29, 2002; April 24, 2012.  

GETTING THERE…. I visited Corfu (called Kerkira in European maps) in late August - early September 1985 and spent an afternoon at the ancient Jewish cemetery outside of the port town of Corfu (Corfu also being the island). Corfu is the furthest northwest of any Greek territory; it lies immediately to the south of Albania; Italy is west across the Adriatic Sea.

Ferries cross from Bari, Italy bringing tourists to and from Corfu. When I went to Corfu I came by ferry from Dubrovnik in southwest Yugoslavia. This was before the mid-1990’s war that tore Yugoslavia apart and the genocide that ensued.    

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THE NAZI OCCUPATION:
The Jewish communities of Greece and Yugoslavia suffered horribly at the hands of the Nazi murderers.

The Greek Jews were geographically, linguistically and in many ways culturally distinct from the Jewish communities of eastern and western Europe.

The Jewish residents of Corfu were arrested and taken by boat to the Greek mainland. They were deported in train cars to southern Poland where they were unloaded at the Auschwitz death camp complex.  

More men than women survived the death and concentration camp complex. Men who survived  returned to homes without their mothers, wives, girlfriends, daughters.

It was a wrenching end to a rich and long history.

In 1985 the cemetery was parched dry and overgrown with weeds. Like its counterparts in Krakow and Warsaw, there were graves of recently deceased Jewish Holocaust survivors in the cemetery.

Former United Nations Secretary General and Austrian President Kurt Waldheim was a Nazi “intelligence officer” in Yugoslavia and Greece. His work was responsible for the murders of thousands of Jews and non-Jewish Greeks and Yugoslavians.

Until his war time activities were revealed against his wishes, he remained silent about his blood stained history.

Afterwards, he never expressed contrition or remorse. One among millions of Nazi’s involved in the murder of civilians, his story is a shining example of how a human being can become a monster and rise to a position of great power and prestige despite being a war criminal.

THE ARTWORK

The drawing was done on–site in the cemetery of several gravestones.  After I returned to Seattle (December 1985) I embellished the mat and worked on the frame.

The Hebrew carved into the bottom center of the picture frame is etched onto a gravestone in the cemetery. On the stone is seen the image of a fist holding a knife, which is probably a family crest or emblem.

There are two brothers buried there by the surname of Moustaki. One was involved in Zionist activities and the other a member of the local Jewish burial society. Both died before the war.

The symbol of the two hands is seen on Jewish gravestones elsewhere in Europe and perhaps in other Jewish communities.

It symbolizes the Hebrew letter Shin. This letter represents the first letter of the word Shaddai, which is a synonym usage for G-D (God).

Jews buried in gravestones with this image are descendants of Kohenim, i.e. members of the priestly class of ancient times.

The word “Anulowano” at upper left of the mat is the Polish word for Void (as in Null & Void), which was stamped in my passport each time I left Poland.

Oyzo at upper left was drawn from the label from a bottle of Ouzo I bought.

The camel (upper right) was drawn from the cover of a can of shoe polish I'd bought at a Corfu store.

The mat is embellished with a drawing, a metallic sticker, a collaged-on business card from a shop in the town of Corfu, and a part of a movie receipt for the film Shoah, probably from 1983.

The nut (on the frame, left side) and the blue glass (bottom, to left of the carving) were picked up on a Corfu beach.